musings on the intersections of the world

Best of 2017: Newly-Discovered Music

I used my music data to look up my favorite artists that I discovered in 2017. These are the ones that are the memorable favorites, beyond the statistical favorites.

Pional

This one is a surprise but a good reminder that small obsessions can make a big difference in overall statistics. I have The Burning Ear to thank for this discovery, and Spotify for entertaining it.

Song recommendation:

R.Lum.R

I discovered this artist because they’re touring as the headliner with Gibbz, who I was already familiar with. The groovy vibe of this artist took those tickets from a probable insta-purchase to an actual insta-purchase.

Song recommendation:

Jason Gaffner

A discovery thanks to The Burning Ear, I discovered Jason Gaffner’s nu-disco grooves around the same time that I got obsessed with some songs by Gibbz (who I must’ve discovered in 2016). I bought this song soon after and am keeping an eye out for new releases.

Song recommendation:

Alex Cruz

I heard Alex Cruz for the first time when I was in Greece, listening to a set that my friend started playing. It took me three tries to figure out who she was talking about, and then I discovered a few of his sets that he puts out as the Deep and Sexy Podcast.

Song recommendation:

Perfume Genius

I can’t remember if I started listening to Perfume Genius because of Discover Weekly or the Song Exploder podcast, but damn they’re good. My only regret is that I discovered them too late to get tickets to their sold out show.

Song recommendation:

Super Duper

I don’t remember how I discovered this artist. I think it was an autoplay on SoundCloud after listening to some tracks The Burning Ear had posted? Either way, I fell in love with this remix.

Song recommendation:

Shallou

I came across this band on The Burning Ear too. I think they’ll be around for Noise Pop next year so I’ll have to decide if I want to go see them. I’m mostly in love with this song.

Song recommendation:

Sampha

He opened for the xx, so I checked out his Spotify page after I found out he was opening for them. Sweet, sweet grooves.

Song recommendation:

James Barrett

This guy showed up in my Discover Weekly playlist. I really like this song, but didn’t get as into the rest of his songs. Still a damn good song tho.

Song recommendation:

Ella Vos

I enjoyed her song Little Brother so much that I got tickets to see her next year. I’ll be keeping an eye out for new releases from her as well.

Song recommendation:

Less notable discoveries:

Jane

I came across this band on SoundCloud through The Burning Ear again. This song was an easy purchase because it’s so catchy.

Song recommendation:

Bjéar

This artist showed up on my Discover Weekly playlist. Great for fans of Bon Iver.

Song recommendation:

Imad Royal

This was another The Burning Ear discovery, and an easy purchase!

Song recommendation:

The Full List

The full list of 35 artists that had more than 10 listens each, first listened to in 2017: